OldRacingCars.com

SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B/C Race

Lime Rock, 7 Sep 1970

ResultsLapsTime/Speed
1 Mike Eyerly Chevron B17b - Ford twin cam Hart
#74 Opert-Bonphil Racing (see note 1)
50
98.6 mph
2 Allan Lader Brabham BT29 [35] - Ford twin cam Hart
#75 Opert-Bonphil Racing
50
3 Jack Cowell Winkelmann WDB2 [8] - Ford twin cam
#33
50
4 Matt Spitzley Brabham BT29 - Ford twin cam
#36 Spitsford Racing, Grosse Points, Mich.
(see note 2)
50
5 Nick Craw Brabham BT29 [5] - Ford twin cam Hart
#71 Fred Opert Racing, Upper Saddle River, NJ
(see note 3)
49
6 Randy Lewis Brabham BT29 [38] - Ford twin cam Racesales
#7 Randy Lewis, Sunnyvale, Calif.
(see note 4)
49
7 Bill Gubelmann March 705 [3] - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#47 (see note 5)
49
8 Skeeter McKitterick Tecno 69 - Ford twin cam
#43
49
9 Syd Demovsky Brabham BT29 - Ford twin cam
#11 Syd Demovsky Racing, Chicago, IL
(see note 6)
49
10 Bob Hebert Lotus 59 [59-FB-12] - Ford twin cam
#81 Barrington House Hotel, Barrington, Mass.
(see note 7)
49
11 Jon Woodner Brabham BT21 - Ford twin cam
#49 Jon Woodner, New York, NY (see note 8)
49
12 Brian Robertson Brabham BT29 - Ford twin cam Hart
#5 Fred Opert Racing, Upper Saddle River, NJ
(see note 9)
49
13 Fred Opert Chevron B17b - Ford twin cam Hart
#73 Fred Opert Racing, Upper Saddle River, NJ
(see note 10)
48
14 David McConnell Lotus 59/69 [59-F2/XB-40] - Ford twin cam Hart
#86 Jim Russell Inc (RDS) Canada, Montreal, Canada
(see note 11)
48
15 Jim Grob Chevron B15b [FB-69-4?] - Ford twin cam HRE
#77 Jim Grob Racing, Pompano Beach, Fla
(see note 12)
47
16 Larry Wright Chevron B15 [FB-68-13?] - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#24 C.E. Wright, Bloomington, Ind.
(see note 13)
46
17 Jacques Couture Lotus 59/69 [59-F2/XB-42] - Ford twin cam Hart
#84 Jim Russell Inc (RDS) Canada, Montreal, Canada
(see note 14)
46
18 Roger Barr Crosslé - Ford twin cam
#61 Crossle Amer. Racing
46
19 Graham Baker Brabham BT29 - Ford twin cam Hart
#67 Bonphil Racing Indus. Inc. (see note 15)
46
20 William Prout Jr March 705 [2] - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#88 P.H.W. Racing, Ivoryton, Conn.
(see note 16)
46
R John F. Sirmons Lotus 59C [59-FB-15] - Ford twin cam BRM
#20 John E. Sirmons, Weston, Conn.
(see note 17)
42 engine died
R Skip Barber Tecno - Ford twin cam
#1 Gene Mason Racing, Philadelphia, Pa.
31 engine went "pop"
R Evan Noyes Brabham BT29 - Ford twin cam Hart
#72 Fred Opert Racing, Upper Saddle River, NJ
(see note 18)
18 stalled
R Ken Duclos Brabham BT29 [2] - Ford twin cam
#34 Ken Duclos, Boston, Mass. (see note 19)
11 mechanical
R George Alderman Lotus 61 - Ford twin cam
#23 George Alderman, Wilmington, Del.
2 engine failure
R Thomas E. Kornell Lotus 41C - Ford twin cam
#46 Ivanhoe Racing, Carson, Conn.
0 accident
R John Girdler Brabham BT29 - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#17 John G. Girdler, Southampton, NY
(see note 20)
0 accident
R Doug Brenner Chevron B15b [FB-69-8?] - Ford twin cam HRE
#26 Fred Opert Racing, Upper Saddle River, NJ
(see note 21)
0 oil leak
R Bill Baldwin Brabham BT21C - Ford twin cam
#6 Bill Baldwin, Livingston, N.J.
(see note 22)
0 accident
DNQ Wayne Ricciardi (FC) 1-litre Brabham BT21 - Ford Lucas downdraft
(see note 23)
Did not qualify
DNQ Jim Jenkins (FF) 1.6-litre Winkelmann - Ford
Did not qualify
DNQ C N Dunn (F?) Winkelmann
Did not qualify
DNQ Walter Nelson (FC) Brabham BT21B - Ford Holbay
#3 Walter Nelson, N. Haledon, N.Y.
Did not qualify
DNQ Jerry Walsh (FC) 1.1-litre Brabham - Cosworth
#4 Mike Rand, Riverside, Conn.
Did not qualify
DNQ Skip Adrian Winkelmann WDB2 [4] - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#8 Skip Adrian, Cortland, Ohio
Did not qualify
DNQ Don Ward (FC) 1.1-litre Cooper T76 - Ford
#10 P.H.W. Racing, Ivoryton, Conn.
(see note 24)
Did not qualify
DNQ William W Smith unknown
#13 "Super Solution Special" Fred Opert Racing
Did not qualify
DNQ Oliver Grant Chevron B15b - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#18 Oliver E. Grant, Norfolk, VA
(see note 25)
Did not qualify
DNQ Harry Reynolds (FC) 1.1-litre Brabham BT29 [25] - Cosworth SCC
#27 Mike Rand, Riverside, Conn.
Did not qualify
DNQ Ed Tripp Winkelmann - Ford twin cam
#32 Winkleman [sic] Racing, Blaovelt, NY
Did not qualify
DNQ Phil Raeder (FC) 1-litre Lotus 35 - Ford Cosworth SCA
#39 Terri Autosports Consul.
Did not qualify
DNQ Mike Rand (FC) 1-litre Brabham BT21B [15] - Ford Cosworth SCA
#47 Michael Rand, Riverside, CT
Did not qualify
DNQ Ron Cohn (FC) 1-litre Brabham BT18 [F2-25-66] - Ford Broadspeed downdraft
#56 Michael Rand, Riverside, CT
(see note 26)
Did not qualify
DNQ Frank Del Vecchio Lola T200 - Ford
#79 Sprindel Racing Corp., Elmsford, NY [Springdel?]
Did not qualify
DNQ John Inglehart Crosslé - Ford twin cam
#95 John Inglehart, Greenwich, CT
Did not qualify
  Ken Huband Brabham BT29 [34] - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#15 Huband Motor Racing, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
(see note 27)
On entry list
  Thomas B Hilliar (FC) 1.1-litre Lotus 41C [41C-F3-33] - Ford Piper
#30 P.H.W. Racing, Ivoryton, Conn.
On entry list
  Steven Woods Lotus 41C [41C-FL-44] - Ford twin cam
#31 Poroco Eng., Collinsville, Conn.
On entry list
  Peter W Nye Brabham BT18 - Ford twin cam HRE
#35 Peter Nye Racing, Ypsilanti, Mich.
(see note 28)
On entry list
  Chuck Schroedel (FC) Brabham BT21
#38 Springdel Racing Corp., Elmsford, NY
On entry list
  Steve Clarke Crosslé 16F - Ford
#41 Steve Clarke, Canaan, Conn.
On entry list
  Dexter Farley Brabham BT29 [30] - Ford twin cam
#44 Lykos Racing Corp, Newberg, Md.
(see note 29)
On entry list
  George "Skipp" Walther Chevron B15b - Ford twin cam
#53 George Walther Jr (see note 30)
On entry list
  Randy Fraser Brabham BT29 - Ford twin cam
#54 ("Multimetals BT29") Fred Opert Racing, Upper Saddle Rvr, NJ
(see note 31)
On entry list
  Charles T. Gibson March 705 - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#57 Gibson Racing Co., Denver Colorado
(see note 32)
On entry list
  Woody Harris Genie Mk 13 - Ford twin cam
#66 Grand Prix Racing, Campbell, Calif.
On entry list
  Craig Hill Lotus 59 [59-F2/XB-41] - Ford twin cam
#70 ("Castrol GTX Lotus 59") Bill Brack Racing Ent, Toronto, Can
(see note 33)
On entry list
  Thomas C. Jones Brabham BT16 - Ford twin cam
#96 Tom Jones Racing Ent., Lakewood, Ohio
On entry list
  George L Smith Tecno 69/FB - Ford twin cam Vegantune
#97 George L. Smith, Troy, NY
On entry list

All cars are 1.6-litre FB unless noted.

Qualifying
Qualifying information not available

Notes on the cars:

  1. Chevron B17b (Mike Eyerly): Mike Eyerly (Salem, OR) raced a Chevron B17b for Fred Opert Racing in 1970, winning the first six races of the Continental Formula B Championship. Despite competition from Alan Lader, he won a total of eight rounds of the series and easily retained his title. The car was then sold to Phil Cole, who raced it in an Arizona Region SCCA Regional at Phoenix in December 1970, but then nothing was seen of it until Chuck McCain (Tuscon, AZ) raced it in the Formula B class at an Arizona Sports Racing Association race in October 1973, instead of his usual Brabham. McCain advertised the car in March 1974, but evidently never sold it, as it was ultimately bought from his family by Lee Chapman in 2013. It was fully restored and raced by new owner Jim Victor (Davenport, Iowa) at Road America in 2015, originally in white bodywork, but later restored very precisely to Eyerly's livery . A week after racing the Chevron at Road America in July 2018, Victor sadly died following an accident while driving another car at the same track.
  2. Brabham BT29 (Matt Spitzley): Matt Spitzley (then from Aspen, CO), had a Brabham BT29 for 1970 entered by his Spitzford Racing team (Detroit, Michigan). For 1971 the car was sold to Mike Rand (Riverside, CT/Greenwich, CT) who raced it in NEDiv FB, finishing third overall. It then went to Peter Regna in New Jersey for 1972, after which Regna recalls selling it to Ken Duclos. Duclos, however, does not remember buying it.
  3. Brabham BT29 [5] (Nick Craw): Nick Craw (Washington,DC) bought one of the first Brabham BT29s from local Brabham dealer Fred Opert, a car identified by Ted Walker of the Brabham Register as chassis BT29-5. Craw raced in SCCA events from August 1969 onwards, finishing second in the SEDiv FB championship by a single point, and in two Pro races. He continued with a BT29 in 1970 in Pro racing as part of Fred Opert Racing and to the best of his and Opert's recollection, used the same car. He bought a Brabham BT35 for 1971 but before this arrived in the US, he raced the BT29 once more, winning a National at Summit Point in April 1971. The car appeared in Fred Opert's stock list on 1 May, and on the reverse of one of this list, as sent by Opert's secretary Jeannie to Brabham historian Denis Lupton in 1971, a handwritten comment gives Craw's car as "BT29-5". A column by Craw in June 1972 said the car was sold to Jiro Yoneyama, a Japanese driver who raced a Brabham BT29 in US Formula B as part of Fred Opert's team. His car was white and ran as #76. The Road America entry list noted it was using a Hart engine. He was not seen after Road America in August 1971, and the BT29 was then sold to Gary Gove (Tacoma, WA) who raced it in SCCA Regional and ICSCC events in 1971 and 1972, It was reportedly crashed in 1972 and its later history is presently unresolved.
  4. Brabham BT29 [38] (Randy Lewis): John Ranson Lewis III, who raced as Randy Lewis (Sunnyvale, CA), had a blue Brabham BT29 for 1970 which was entered as #7. He raced the car through the full Pro season, finishing fourth at Sears Point in June and at Road America in August, end ending the season in eighth place in the championship. He did not compete in SCCA Nationals. The car was sold to Bunny Ribbs (San Jose, CA) for Mike Eyerly to drive in FB in 1971 (#63) and 1972 (#80). Jon Milledge also drove Ribbs car at Brainerd in Sep 1972. Ribbs, father of future Trans-Am star Willy T. Ribbs, advertised the car at the end of 1972. This is presumably the blue #80 Brabham BT29 raced by Lee Midgley at Road America in August 1973 and driven by Archie Snider at Trois-Rivières a week later. Subsequent history unknown.
  5. March 705 [3] (Bill Gubelmann): New for Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) and used in the later races of the 1970 SCCA Formula B championship. Unknown in 1971 but reappeared in 1972 with Gerald Lieberg (Milford, CT), who drove it in the North Atlantic Road Racing Championship Regional series in NEDiv. Lieberg advertised the car in Competition Press & Autoweek in December 1972 and January 1973 as "ex-Gubelmann".
  6. Brabham BT29 (Syd Demovsky): Syd Demovsky (Chicago, IL) raced a yellow #11 Brabham BT29 in Pro events in 1970. At the end of the year the car was sold via Joe Grimaldi (Race Shop) to Peter Nye (Ann Arbor, MI) who fitted it with a HRE twin cam and raced it in Pro events and in some SCCA events through 1971. At the end of that season he sold it less engine to Jim Lloyd (Indianapolis, IN) who converted it to Formula C and won the CenDiv FC title in 1972 and 1973. Lloyd retained the car and later restored it to Formula B specification for vintage racing. He advertised it in fully-restored condition in February 1991.
  7. Lotus 59 [59-FB-12] (Bob Hebert): Bought by Pete and Bill Pulver's Dutchess Auto in 1969 for Fred Stevenson (Salisbury, CT) to race in US Formula B and entered by Stevenson's Lotus/East Inc racing operation. The car was sold at the end of the main season to customer Bob Hebert (Monterey, MA) and driven by him at Sebring at the end of 1969 (according to Stevenson's recollection but not in reports) and then through the 1970 season. Hebert and Stevenson had new 69s for 1971 and the 59B may have returned to Stevenson and even been raced by him in some SCCA Nationals in 1971. To Ralph Manaker (Syracuse, NY) for 1972, and raced in NEDiv Regional Formula B that year, entered by BME Racing. By this time it was wearing Lotus 69 bodywork, with the original bodywork remaining with Manaker until the 1990s. The Lotus then went to Leland Gerey, who put it on pole position for a race at Pocono as late as 1980. Then to Kurt Hoffman, and sold for him by Jerry Bensinger via Frans Van den Heuvel (Holland) to Paul Schouwenburg (Belgium). Then back from Schouwenburg to Bensinger in 1989, and offered by sale in 1990. By 1992/93, the car had been sold to a Japanese dealer but when a planned auction in Japan was cancelled, the car remained in a warehouse in California for some time. In 1995, it was sold by Mark Leonard to Tim Gaffney, and he restored the car to Fred Stevenson's #93 livery, but on its newer Lotus 69 bodywork. The car was then sold by Gaffney to Japan.
  8. Brabham BT21 (Jon Woodner): Mike Brodie (Mill Valley, CA) ran a red Brabham BT21 in a handful of 'Pro' FB races in 1969. He had acquired the car directly from Brabham, and recalls that it was a BT21, not a BT21A or BT21C. It replaced a Lotus 35 that he had raced in 1968. Later that season, he took the car to the east coast, where it was raced by Jon Woodner at Road America and Lime Rock. Mike cannot recall who he sold it to. Subsequent history unknown.
  9. Brabham BT29 (Brian Robertson): Brian Robertson (Brockville, Ontario) bought a Brabham BT29 late in 1969, debuting it at Sebring in December. He raced it extensively in 1970, taking in the Quebec and national Canadian series as well as rounds of the SCCA Pro series. He was entered by Fred Opert Racing Canada, a business in which he was a partner with Opert. Robertson upgraded to a BT35 for 1971 and his BT29 is likely to have been sold via the Opert operation. It does not appear in Opert's early 1971 advert so one possibility is that it was BT29/23, the car Evan Noyes took to the Tasman series.
  10. Chevron B17b (Fred Opert): Fred Opert ran a team five-car team in 1970 which included a Chevron B17b for himself and a sister car for Mike Eyerly. Opert's personal car was sold to Tom Outcault (Cranford, NJ) for 1971 who used it in NEDiv events and also in the Pro race at Road America in Aug 1971. Outcault sold it via Fred Opert to Carmelo Crisafuli (Great Neck, Long Island, NY), and it was registered by the SCCA at Watkins Glen in September 1972. He raced it in SCCA Regionals including two New York Region rounds of the North Atlantic Road Racing Championship in 1974. RJ Nelkin (Roslyn, NY) bought the car for 1975, and raced it in SCCA and EMRA events that season. It was sold in 1976 via Fred Opert to Roy Aber (Penn Hills, PA) who recalls racing the car until 1981. He sold it to JC Gongaware (Youngwood, PA), and did not hear of it again. The car was next seen about 1986 when Lee Chapman (New Milford, CT) of Auto Restorations had the car, having bought it from Jim Wisheart in Pennsylvania. It went from Chapman to Fred Gunther (Trumbull, CT), then to Peter McLaughlin (Hannover, NH), and then to Travis Engen (Weston, CT) in 1994 or 1995.
  11. Lotus 59/69 [59-F2/XB-40] (David McConnell): New to David McConnell (Montréal, Quebec, Canada) and raced in the SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B series and the Quebec Region Molson Championship during 1970. The car was entered by Jim Russell RDS (Canada) Ltd, and generally wore #86. McConnell then took the car out to New Zealand for the start of the 1971 Tasman Cup, where the car was described as a Lotus 69. After a run of poor results in New Zealand, he fitted an 1800cc Cosworth FVC engine for the Australian rounds, but failed to qualify for the Warwick Farm race. Local Lotus agent Leo Geoghegan tried the car in practice at that event. After one more race, McConnell abandoned the series. The subsequent history of the Lotus 59/69 is unknown.
  12. Chevron B15b [FB-69-4?] (Jim Grob): Jim Grob (Ft Lauderdale, FL but later Pompano Beach, CA) raced a Chevron B15b in Pro racing in 1969 and also scored 24 points in Northeast Division FB, representing Northern New Jersey Region. He retained the car for 1970 and again for 1971, then mainly focusing his efforts on SCCA Divisional racing in Southeast Division. He finished second to Hugh Kleinpeter's sister car in 1970 but then won the Division in 1971. He changed to a new Chevron B20 for 1972.
  13. Chevron B15 [FB-68-13?] (Larry Wright): Joe Grimaldi acquired one of four late 1968 Chevrons to arrive in the US. At least three of these were described by Chevron as B14s, including Grimaldi's. He debuted the car at Mosport Park in Aug 1968 and raced it twice more in Pro events. Grimaldi reappeared in August 1969 with what was reported to be a Chevron B15B which he raced three more times. Larry Wright then acquired a Chevron from Grimaldi for the 1970 season which was described to him as a B15 but when Wright advertised the car in 1971, he called it a "late-1968 Chevron FB" which identifies it as a B14. Wright traded the Chevron to Charlie Hayes in May 1971 for a new Brabham BT29.
  14. Lotus 59/69 [59-F2/XB-42] (Jacques Couture): New to Jacques Couture (Laval, Montréal, Quebec) and raced in the SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B series and the Quebec Region Molson Championship during 1970. The car was entered by Jim Russell RDS (Canada) Ltd, and generally wore #86. Sold to Eligio Siconolfi (Montréal, Quebec) for 1971 and raced in the Players Canadian Formula B series and the Quebec Region Molson series. The car was acquired from Siconolfi by Mauro Lanaro (Montréal, Quebec) who took some time restoring it, and then raced it in regional events in Canada in 1973. Lanaro recalled to Joe Griffin in 2021 that "after a bad accident at Mosport, I sold what was left it to Peter Draggfy". Peter Dragffy is known to have had several Lotus 59/69s in the 1980s.
  15. Brabham BT29 (Graham Baker): Graham Baker moved from New Zealand to the US for a season of Formula B in 1970. He bought a new green Brabham BT29 from Chip Gompf and Wayne Mitchell, one of three new BT29s they had in stock. He was entered by Charlie Hayes Racing Equipment as #82 for his first race, at Edmonton in May, but was then self-entered as #82 for the next eight races as #67 before ending the season as part of the Bonphil Racing Industries team. Hayes sold the car for Baker at the end of the season to a non-racer in Laguna Hills who appears to have retained it, unused, for three years. In late 1973/early 1974, CSCC racer Jeff Alkana learnt from engine specialist Steve Jennings about the car and he bought it with Frank Monise (Pasadena, CA), who needed a new BT29 having wrecked his earlier BT29-41. Monise raced the car for several more seasons with Ford twin cam and BDA engines before selling it around 1976 to Tito D'Oporto and Gary Green and replacing it with a March.
  16. March 705 [2] (William Prout Jr): New to Bill Prout (Ivoryton, CT) and raced in Formula B in 1970. At Bryar in October, Prout became the first person to win a race in North America in a March. For 1971, Prout repainted the car black, but the first real changes were made to it in 1973, when he updated it to 1973 bodywork. In a long career with the car, Prout set the absolute course record at the 1.8 mile course at Pocono in 1971, and set the FA lap record at Bridgehampton in 1974. By the end of his five seasons with the car, it had 73B bodywork with a 1974 F2-style nose, but with the nose cut to accommodate a front radiator, and large homemade sidepods. Sold to Jack Marsella who raced the unaltered "705/41" in a EMRA Formula B race at Bridgehampton in September 1975, and in a New England Region SCCA Regional at Bryar the following May. Subsequent history unknown but eventually the car came into the hands of Charlie Grasso. By the time he died, around 2020, the car had sports car bodywork, suggesting it was used in C Sports Racing, but exactly how it had been used remains unknown. In December 2021, it was sold to Jeremy Ghent (Lancaster, South Carolina). It was identified from its Arch Motors number, but work continues to determine its full history.
  17. Lotus 59C [59-FB-15] (John F. Sirmons): In 1970, John F. Sirmons (Weston, CT) and Vincent Dileo (Greenwich, CT) shared a Lotus 59C, Sirmons driving it in rounds of the SCCA Continental Championship, and Dileo competing in SCCA Nationals and in Area 1 Regional Championship races. This is almost certainly the car used by Ian Ashley to win a libre race at Brands Hatch in November 1969, as the car was said to be for an American customer, and Sirmons' car was later said to be a former Ashley car. Dileo won two Area 1 races at Thompson Raceway in July and August, but Sirmons had little success in Pro events. Sirmons and Dileo acquired a Lola T240 for 1971, and the Lotus is likely to have gone to Lola agent Carl Haas in trade. The car is unknown in 1971, but may have remained in stock with Carl Haas, because at some point in 1972 it was acquired from Haas by Phil Raeder (Delmar, NY), his Formula C Lotus 35 being traded in the other direction. Raeder fitted a Renault Alpine Gordini engine and ran the car in Formula C, qualifying for the Runoffs in 1973 where he finished in an impressive fourth place. He was entered during this time by Terri Novotny. Raeder then updated the car with Lotus 69 bodywork and other modifications and ran it as the PRD in 1974 and 1975, still with its Gordini engine. Pearce Raeder recals that the car was then sold to Walter Nelson (No. Haledon, NY/Great Neck, NY). Nelson raced a Lotus in Northeast Division Formula C in 1976, 1977 and 1978. Photographs show that it had Lotus 69 bodywork but Lotus 59 front suspension mounts, consistent with it being the ex-Raeder car. The car was later acquired by Chuck Sieber (McLean, VA), who used it in Solo II events from 1981 to 1989. He had bought the car less engine, and used a 1760 Ford twin cam, followed by an 1840cc BDA. Sieber sold the car to Ian Giles (Didcot, Oxfordshire) at the end of 1990. Its history over the next six years is unknown, but by 1996 it had been acquired by Peter Studer in Switzerland, and he restored it to F2 specification, using the Gold Leaf Team Lotus livery that was used in Formula 3. The car was still owned by Studer when he died in May 2018.
  18. Brabham BT29 (Evan Noyes): Evan L. Noyes Jr . (Cedarville, MI) entered a yellow Brabham BT29 for Sebring 28 Dec 1969 but did not arrive, implying his car was not quite ready on time. His first known race is at Green Valley Raceway on 22 Feb 1970, a SWDiv National and he ran the canary yellow BT29 in both the 1970 Pro season, where he was a member of the Fred Opert Racing team, and in Nationals where he finished second in CenDiv to Michael Hall. He finished second to Skip Barber's Tecno at the Run-Offs. This is not the same car that Noyes then took to the Tasman series in January 1971 as his well-used US car was on Fred Opert's stock list on 1 May 1971 with a comment that it had not raced since the Run-Offs.
  19. Brabham BT29 [2] (Ken Duclos): Fred Ashplant (Franklin Lakes, NJ) ordered a Brabham BT29 for 1969 but the car was not delivered until August and Ashplant had moved on to other projects. The car was not used during 1969 and was still in its crate when sold to Ken Duclos (Boxboro, MA) for use in NEDiv Formula B. Duclos won the title with a massive 48 pts from the similar BT29 of Bob Welch. After a quiet season with the black BT29 in 1971 he reclaimed his title in 1972, beating the newer March of Michael Rand. He bought a new Brabham BT40 for 1973 and won the divisional title again that season. The BT29 went in part exchange to Fred Opert and from him to Peter Gates (Wilmington, DE) who ran it in NEDiv FB for three more seasons. After him it went to Ken Valan (Wilmington, DE) for 1976, winning the FB class of the Mid-Atlantic Road Racing Series (MARRS) based at Summit Point, then to John Galson (Glen Mills, PA) and was then sold to the Midwest where it was expected to be converted into a sports racer. Subsequent history unknown.
  20. Brabham BT29 (John Girdler): Bill Gubelmann (Oyster Bay, NY) bought one of the first Brabham BT29s to arrive in the US and debuted it in the Pro race at Lime Rock 1 Sep 1969, winning comfortably. He raced it three more times that season but then decided to join Gene Mason's works-assisted Tecno FB team for 1970. The BT29 was advertised and, based on the identical, orange, yellow and white livery, was sold to John G. Girdler (Southampton, NY) who raced it in a handful of Pro events and probably also in SCCA events during 1970. Girdler upgraded to a new March for 1971 so the Brabham may have been traded to Joe Grimaldi. Subsequent history unknown.
  21. Chevron B15b [FB-69-8?] (Doug Brenner): A new Chevron B15B was prepared for Reine Wisell to race - and win - at Sebring 28 Dec 1969. Doug Brenner bought this car for 1970 and raced in the Pro series and then sold it to Byron Hatten (Altadena, CA) for 1971. Hatten continued to race it into 1972 but crashed heavily at Riverside in Feb 1972, the first event of the season, badly damaging the Chevron. Art Brisbane (Covina, CA) bought the damaged car, and also bought the ex-Syd Demovsky damaged B15b frame from Wayne Mitchell. Frank Monise cut the two frames in half and "beautifully attached the good parts together". Brisbane used the rebuilt car in Cal Club Formula C from 1974 until 1978 at least. Subsequent history unknown.
  22. Brabham BT21C (Bill Baldwin): Bill Baldwin (Bound Brook, NJ) ran a red Brabham BT21C at Lime Rock in Sep 1970 and this may be the "BT21A" that he also raced in NEDiv Nationals in 1969. He advertised the BT21C "in immaculate condition" in August 1970 and again in March 1971. Malcolm Starr remembers that Baldwin was his mechanic on the Shelby Mustang GT350R he raced in 1965, and was keen to race, so may have ended up with Starr's BT21C after the 1968 season.
  23. Brabham BT21 (Wayne Ricciardi): Wayne Ricciardi (N. Haldon, NJ/Winnetke, IL) raced a Brabham BT21 in Formula C races in 1970. He had previously raced a "BT21B" in FC in 1969 but that car had been heavily damaged at VIR in September 1969, leaving Ricciardi with a broken leg. Whether Ricciardi had needed a replacement car for 1970 is not clear but for now it is supposed that he did. Ricciardi advertised a BT21 with Lucas downdraft engine in September 1970, noting that it had recorded seven firsts, two seconds, and one third from 11 starts in Northeast Division in 1969. Unfortunately, at Lime Rock in October 1970 he was hit by James Carlson's LeGrand and flipped the car. Ricciardi and Joe Grimaldi were partners in "The Raceshop" which opened in January 1971 in Midland Park, NJ and if the BT21 survived, it is likely to have bene sold by this dealership. Nothing more known.
  24. Cooper T76 (Don Ward): Don Ward (New Haven, CT) drove a Cooper-BMC in Formula C in 1969 and a Cooper-Ford in 1970. In Sep 1972, he advertised a Cooper T76 rolling chassis and it is presumed that this is the car he had raced in 1969 and 1970.
  25. Chevron B15b (Oliver Grant): Oliver E. Grant (Norfolk, VA) raced a yellow #21 Chevron in SCCA FB events in 1969, describing it as a B14 at Mont-Tremblant in September. He retained the car for a few races in 1970 when it wore #18 but was described as a B15B. It is possible that Grant had acquired Joe Grimaldi's B14 and traded it back to Grimaldi for a newer B15B for 1970. Grant died in 2007 and the subsequent history of the Chevron remains unknown.
  26. Brabham BT18 [F2-25-66] (Ron Cohn): New to "Rollo" Feilding and used in European F3 in 1966. To Peter Gaydon for 1967, and raced in British F3. To Charles Carling for 1968, and again used expensively in British F3. Sold via Len Selby to Fred Opert and shipped to the US for Formula C. Sold to Philip K. Raeder Jr (Delmar, NY) for 1969 and used in Regional Formula C. To Ron Cohn (Modena, NY) for 1970, and again used in local Formula C events. To Walter Hagstrom (Jackson Height, NY) and continued to be used in FC. Hagstrom advertised the car in November 1971 but his recollection is that he used it for several seasons.
  27. Brabham BT29 [34] (Ken Huband): Ken Huband (Ottawa, Ontario) ran a red/black #15 Brabham BT29 in Canadian and US Formula B in 1970, first appearing at Mont-Tremblant 24 May 1970. He retained the car in 1971 and in 1972. Huband advertised the BT29 in CP&A 21 Oct 1972 as "Brabham BT29/34", implying it was chassis 34. Several BT29 owners had mentioned the chassis numbers of the cars in adverts, presumably to emphasise the newer cars. Peter Nye arranged the sale of the car to Bill Wolfe, a dentist in Austin, Texas, but Wolfe later pulled out of a deal with Nye to assemble the car for him. Subsequent history unknown.
  28. Brabham BT18 (Peter W Nye): Peter Nye (Ann Arbor, MI) bought a Brabham BT18 rolling chassis from Fred Opert for the 1969 season. Opert fitted a used Vegantune twin cam engine to it for Formula B, but the engine kept bending valves and Nye rarely finished a race. After returning the Vegantune to Opert, he bought an HRE engine from Gus Hutchinson for the 1970 season but did not have much more success. Nye does not recall whether he sold that car privately, but may have traded it to Joe Grimaldi's Race Shop for his next car, a Brabham BT29. Subsequent history unknown.
  29. Brabham BT29 [30] (Dexter Farley): After crashing his FC car at Lime Rock in August 1969, Dexter Farley (Waldorf, MD) part-exchanged the wrecked Brabham for a new Brabham BT29 from east coast dealer Joe Grimaldi, who had recently parted from Fred Opert. Farley drove the car in Pro events in 1970 as well as competing in NEDiv FB races. He retained it for 1971 when Tom Reddy raced it a couple of times and advertised it as "ser no 30" in October 1971. He also had it in the early part of 1972 before moving to Washington state and quitting racing. The next period of the car's life is unknown but it has been identified as the BT29 bought around 1974 from Bill Wonder by engine preparer Ted Wenz and raced in 1975. Wonder had been running it for a woman driver, which must mean Diana Black (Kew Gardens, NY) who raced a Brabham BT29 in NEDiv FB in 1973 and 1974. Wenz later sold it to Texas but it re-emerged in the 1980s and was recently owned by Peter McLaughlin (Hannover, NH).
  30. Chevron B15b (George "Skipp" Walther): Skipp Walther, more formally George Walther III of Dayton, Ohio, appeared just once in Formula B in 1970 in a #53 blue/silver Chevron B15b entered for him at Road America 18 Jul 1970 by Fred Opert. He went very well in this race, qualifing third and running second. Walther advertised the car in November 1970 with a comment that it had only raced once in 1970, which would appear to rule out it being Jon Hall's, and would also rule out it having been raced by Jim Trueman later in 1970. Walther raced a new Lola T240 in 1972 and the history of his B15B is unknown. Walther was killed in a hydroplane accident at Miami Marine Stadium in June 1974.
  31. Brabham BT29 (Randy Fraser): Randy Fraser (Piedmont, Quebec/Rhode Island) raced a blue-and-silver #54 Brabham BT29 in 1970 as part of Team IRI and with sponsorship from Multimetals. He appeared in both the Canadian and US Pro series but focused on the US series after the first few races. He moved to a new March 71BM for 1971 but the Brabham remained unsold. It appeared in his advert in CP&A in November 1971 when it was described as a rolling chassis in parts. Subsequent history unknown.
  32. March 705 (Charles T. Gibson): Charles T. Gibson raced a black #57 March 705 in Formula B in 1970, entered by Gibson Racing Company of Poughkeepsie, NY. Later in the season, the team was said to be based in Denver, CO, but this appears to have been a short-lived change. Gibson entered the car at Road America in July 1971. He bought a second-hand 71BM in February 1973, so it is possible he kept the 705 longer than 1971. History then unknown until 1983, when, according to later owner Ben Auto in Japan, it was owned by Ed Forbes on Long Island, New York, who intended to use it for autocross. It was then sold to "Thomas Gaffney of Classic Advantage" in 1992, and fully restored. Exactly what happened next is unclear, but by 2019, the 705 was owned by Ben Auto (Yamada, Japan) and was being raced in historic events in Japan.
  33. Lotus 59 [59-F2/XB-41] (Craig Hill): New to Craig Hill (Mississauga, Ontario) and run in the Canadian Road Racing Championship and the SCCA Continental Championship for Formula B, entered by Bill Brack Racing Enterprises. Hill ran in a team with Brack's Formula 5000 Lotus 70, with both cars in marching Castrol GTX livery. Unlike the two JRDS cars, which were entered as Lotus 69Bs, Hill's car first raced in Lotus 59 bodywork and was generally billed through the season as the "Castrol GTX Lotus 59". For 1971, the car was sold to Max Nerrière (Toronto, Ontario), who raced it in the Players Canadian Formula B series. Retained by Nerrière for 1972 and for 1973. Subsequent history unknown.

Sources

Note that the identification of individual cars in these results is based on the material presented elsewhere in this site and may in some cases contradict the organisers' published results.

1970 US FB results were compiled from Autoweek reports by Jim Thurman; 1971 results were transcribed from Autoweek by Allen Brown and 1972 results were compiled by Chris Townsend from an SCCA results publication.

The US Formula B series did not continue in 1973 but a race was organised in Caracas in March 1973 that fits here probably better than anywhere else, as do the occasional SCCA F/Atlantic and FB races in 1974 and 1975.

All comments, clarifications, corrections and additions are most welcome. Please email Allen (allen@oldracingcars.com) if you can help in any way with our research.